


The Scent of Lavender

by RedStarFiction



Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 15:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6476563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedStarFiction/pseuds/RedStarFiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loosely linked to Lions Den but really a separate piece just set in the same time frame. A look at J+C reconnecting further in the wake of Wentworth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Scent of Lavender

Claire stood in just her shift trying to catch a small breeze, her hair lifted off of her neck to keep cool. The scent of lavender clung to everything in the room. Claire had hacked at the bush outside their window but it was too hot to keep the room shut up and even with her valiant effort, the smell persisted.  
Jamie tried to feign nonchalance about it but Claire could feel the tension coming off him in waves and knew that the work he claimed to be too urgent to wait until morning was really an excuse not to sleep and risk the dreams of Wentworth that would surely follow.  
She had smeared a little orange pulp on his top lip to try and override the flowers aroma with the heavier tang of citrus but Jamie had irritably wiped it away after a few minutes and sat hunched at the little writing desk, clad in just his shirt, everything else in a pile at his feet, quill poised above the paper without any ink on the tip.  
“Go to sleep Sassenach, I will be a while yet.”  
“Leave it until morning Jamie, come to bed.”  
Claire murmured, laying her hands on his shoulders. He turned to kiss the fingers of her right hand but made no move to stand.  
“No, I’ll see to it now and join ye shortly. Besides it is far too hot in here for either of us to sleep well side by side.”  
Jamie gestured irritably at the room as if the heat was a visible menace and ran a hand through his hair.  
“I won’t sleep well without you beside me.”  
Claire pouted teasingly, kissing the shell of his ear. Jamie jolted as he huddled further forward and Claire tightened her grip on his shoulders sensing his distress.  
“It’s alright …”  
“No it’s no’ alright!”  
He pushed himself upright and glowered around the opulent chamber which had been arranged for them.  
“I canna stand these rooms an’ tomorrow I will ha’ us moved to somewhere that is slightly cooler than the fires o’ hell and which doesna stink like damn potpourri!”  
He snapped, slapping his hand down on the desk in frustration  
“An’ I canna e’en scratch the itch on my han’ because o’ this contraption ye trussed me up in. When can it come off?”  
Claire took a deep breath in through her nose and forced herself to remain calm.  
“I should think another week until I can try to remove the splints, but you’ll need it bandaged for another three at least to protect…”  
As she spoke a fly landed on the edge of the ink pot and Jamie clumsily swept his hand at it, catching the rim and sending ink splattering across the desk.  
“INFRINN! MALLAICHTE BAS!”  
He bellowed and Claire stepped back giving him space to mop up the mess as best he could and swear profusely in every language he knew. Once he had worn his rage out he placed his palms on the desk and drew a deep breath.  
“Forgive me Sassenach. I’ve the Devil’s own temper tonight.”  
He sighed heavily. Claire smiled and moved quietly forward, wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin in the hollow of his collar bone. Jamie leant his head lightly against hers and stroked his left hand up her arm.  
“We’ll move to a different room tomorrow, I’ll tell them the heat is unsettling the baby.”  
She said lightly and Jamie smiled  
“Or tell them ye husband is goin’ mad in his own skin.”  
“Mine will cause less alarm.”  
Claire reasoned. Jamie patted her arm and stood, stretching his arms above his head.  
“Aye, but mine may scare the wee bastard who put us here into hidin’ which would be wise in case I ever learn his name…”  
He let the thought trail off menacingly  
“I feel like that bear they had at the menagerie, like I’m in a cage much too small for me and nowhere to go but into lunacy.”  
Claire turned his chair so that it was facing the ornate mirror beside their bed.  
“You need a reminder…”  
She guided him to sit and then knelt before him. Jamie swallowed and looked down at her, catching his bottom lip between his teeth as she trailed her hands down his thighs, palms rasping against the hair on his legs.  
“Of what?”  
He croaked, feeling himself grow peaceful in the certainty held in the depths of those mysterious golden eyes.  
“Of who you are. You are James…”  
She kissed the inside of his knee…  
“Alexander…”  
The inside of his thigh…  
“Malcolm…”  
Her lips moving higher …  
“Mackenzie …”  
Higher…  
“Fraser.”  
She finished with a firm inevitability that wrenched a groan from his lips.  
“I’ve ne’er been so glad o’ havin’a long name in my life.”  
Jamie’s knuckles were white as he gripped the arms of the chair and Claire smiled up at him.  
“You are a laird, a leader, a warrior. You are a son, brother, husband and … father.”  
Jamie’s face softened at the last word and he gently cupped Claire’s cheek in his palm  
“Aye, and yet wi’out ye I am nothing.”  
“Jamie, you are never nothing. With me, without me, you are who you are and you are and you are exactly as you are meant to be. Nothing can break you. Nothing can alter your core.”  
Her voice was fiercely determined and Jamie felt pride swell in his chest and something stronger than pride too, a small knot of feeling like a light in his heart that he thought had been taken from him forever.  
Sensing the change in his mood, Claire ducked her head and his hands went instinctively to her hair, burying his fingers in the unruly curls.  
He watched the rise and fall of her shoulders in the mirror, the curve of her beautiful back and the sweet soles of her feet, delicately tucked under the swell of her behind. His wife. His heart.  
A sudden breeze chilled the room and the scent of lavender swelled, cocooning them both within its fragrant cloud. For a moment fear ripped through him but that little ball of light Claire had given him shone steadily and refused to be extinguished.  
Jamie stopped watching her reflection and switched his gaze to the top of her head, the curve of her cheek and the delicate bridge of her nose, just visible through the veil of her hair and the little ball of light grew. It shone brighter and hotter until he was sure it must burn right through his chest and illuminate all around him. He tipped his head back and light exploded in his eyes like a thousand shooting stars all rushing towards one point in the galaxy: Claire.  
“Jesus, Sassenach.”  
Jamie panted, sliding from the chair to lie on the floor beside her, pulling her tight against his body.  
“I didna ken … I mean … I ne’er stopped wantin’ ye but since Wentworth… it ... hasna felt like *that*!”  
Claire rolled over to face him and traced a finger down the length of his nose  
“I know, but it will. You are still whole Jamie.”  
His lip quirked as he ran his knuckles down over her cheek, mapping the curve of her jaw  
“Thank ye mo nighean donne.”  
Jamie breathed, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling, the gilded plaster spanned the length of the room and he snorted.  
“A man must be richer than he kens what to do wi’ to put his gold on a ceiling.”  
Claire glanced up and shrugged against him.  
“I don’t care for it myself.”  
“Ye dinna have a taste for the fine things do ye, Sassenach?”  
“Define ‘fine things’.”  
Claire grinned, lightly scratching her nails down his chest in invitation. Jamie laughed and looked down at his body  
“I dinna think my scarred and hairy hide counts but yours…”  
He made a noise at the back of his throat and Claire laughed.  
“I’m serious Sassenach, yer arse alone is more precious than all the gold in this palace!”  
He said earnestly and pulled Claire to lie on top of him so that he could pay proper attention to that particular treasure.  
“I love all of ye Sassenach, but there are certain parts o’ ye that I wouldna trade for gold, jewels or anything besides…”  
“Oh! So there are parts that you would?!”  
Jamie pretended to think for a moment as Claire pursed her lips at him  
“Weel I’ve been on the rough side o’ ye tongue a few times and ye feet stink somethin’ fierce after a few day’s walking …”  
Jamie broke off laughing as Claire playfully punched his chest with a noise of outrage.  
“Och aye! Those fists can go too!”  
He grinned, catching her wrists in one large hand and pinning them to the small of her back.  
“You’ll be left with a floating arse at this rate!”  
Claire huffed indignantly and Jamie clucked his tongue against his teeth sympathetically  
“Weel, let me see… I couldna part wi’ ye hair, it is the most beautiful riot o’ brown curls an’ so soft to the touch… Oh! And those golden, whiskey eyes. I couldna live my life wi’out looking into those eyes. I would feel like half a man. These lips …”  
Jamie ran his finger along Claire’s bottom lip and then down her chin  
“This throat, the colour of cream and just as smooth…”  
Claire squirmed against him but Jamie held her fast  
“Mmmm, I would ne’er sell these shoulders either and if anyone tried to run their hands down your back I canna say what I would do …”  
His voice had dropped to a whisper and Claire felt need spring up within her like a flame.  
“Jamie…”  
“Aye mo maise, ask what ye will o’ me and let me serve ye.”  
“Please.”  
It was the only word he needed to hear and together they let their light shine through until the sun rose and chased the last of the shadows away.  
*


End file.
